Hunger Pangs (HG)

[LyricalBlue]

The tiny greenrider found herself leaning against the cavern wall heavily. She didn't know how women went through this, much less liked it. Only three months in and she already felt like a sick herdbeast. Estess's hand wandered down over her clearly curving stomach. How did women deal with this? She was either sick to her stomach or starving and she was beginning to feel rather bloated. Estess had always been tiny, there had never been a time in her life when she wasn't bouncing with energy.

And on top of it... she hadn't even told the father. Not that it wasn't common practice around the Weyr, a good many of the fathers only knew their children because they looked like them. But... somehow that didn't quite sit well with her. Not that Ev'os would have time... even if he wanted to, not now that he rode bronze. A small smile touched her lips on that thought, she knew he'd Impress. And that bronze of his was just perfect.

She let out a long breath and sighed, at least here it was quiet. She'd come down with the idea of getting a bite to eat, but sadly it was late and the kitchens at the moment, were abandoned. So now, she leaned against a wall, munching on a leftover roll and mused.

[hrsegrl]

The hallways at night were quiet though he had found more than one couple kissing in the dark corridors, he did not stop and look. He was on a mission. Well sort of. When one missed dinner one had to scrounge what was left from the kitchens. Ev'os was pretty sure he had a bruise on his arm from that stupid brownrider on top of having to do chores outside those of an ordinary Weyrling. One day people were going to respect Rovanoth and himself as they justly deserved.

Evening chores were not easy either. He had the great misfortune to patrol with the Weyr Guards for the past five candlemarks while Rovanoth slept soundly on his couch. Consequences of being related to the Weyrleader and getting in trouble with a classmate. They had gone on and on about his violent history although Nanyaa didn't seem to have a squeaky clean record either. A woman on a brown dragon was completely unnatural.

He strode with purpose into the kitchens, not taking note of anything but finding something edible. Old meat rolls and what looked like stale bread. There was some red fruit sitting out in a bowl. Ev'os supposed they would have to do. As he turned to face the door again he caught the shape of another person out of the corner of his eye. “Estess?”

[LyricalBlue]

Estess spun around at the sound of a voice she had certainly not expected to hear anytime soon, much less here. Dark eyes went wide and a small crumb fell out of her mouth. After a second she realized how foolish she looked and swallowed.
"Ev'os... what, what are you doing here?"

Well... that was smooth. Oh jeeze, her arm tightened around her all too obvious midsection and she immediately regretted not wearing something heavier. Her other hand tightened on the roll till it was very well squished. She'd just been thinking about him and now he was here... Oh this was not good. Shards and shells, why hadn't she grabbed the heavier shirt?

"I... um... Congratulations on your Impression!" Oh... that was about just as smooth, luckily it was dark enough that she hoped he couldn't see her cheeks coloring. Maybe, if she was really lucky, he'd miss the bulging belly too... Sharding thing... If only she'd known sooner, a short hop between would have fixed everything.

[hrsegrl]

He had to admit she was cute even flustered like she obviously was. Something was bothering her about his presence though he could not think of any reason why that might be. They had agreed that they wouldn't make anything of that night they shared. Now Ev'os could not even if he wanted to. Maybe she felt odd now seeing him? Women were fickle. In fact he was feeling just a little bit sick of them. They were the ones getting him into trouble. Even now it was obvious she did not like him.

"Well I get hungry same as anyone else and I had some duties to take care of." That sounded better than having chores for getting into a fight with a brownriding girl. He forced himself to smile calmly and perhaps still as charming as before. Couldn't hurt to try to be nice eventhough she was behaving a bit rudely.

"Thank you. Rovanoth is great. I trust Zhatiath is well?" Good conversation maker. Talk about the dragons. Quickly he bit into the redfruit he had grabbed. The way she was flushing and touching her belly. Was she going to be sick. He raised an eyebrow. Like many men before him, he was a bit dense and not too good at noticing details.

"Are you feeling alright?"

[LyricalBlue]

He hadn't noticed, suddenly Estess felt like singing. Praise be the thick headed male, if only she could keep him from figuring it out until she was ready to actually tell him he was going to be a father. She was certainly not ready just now, she wasn't even sure she wanted to tell herself, much less anyone else. She nodded, quickly gathering her wits about her.
"Hes a lovely dragon, so nicely colored."

Some bronzes could be muddy or overly green, but Rovanoth wasn't. Aside from the rumors about his health, he was a very nice looking beast. Of course, everyone knew something was really wrong with the gold in that clutch... but most of the others seemed just fine.
"Zha is great... shes been a tad proddy lately. But thats a green." She smiled brightly and shrugged, her arm never moved though. Hopefully he would continue to miss that little fact.

She waved off the comment about her being sick and smiled once more, then proceeded to nibble once more on the now... tenderized roll.
"Fine, just fine. I'm really glad you Impressed, you really deserved too. And Rovanoth is perfect." Of course to every rider, their dragon was perfect, but it never hurt to reinforce that idea. And if he was thinking about his dragon, he was not thinking about her. Which was exactly how she wanted it.

[hrsegrl]

Any praise given to his dragon was well deserved though he probably should thank her for the comments. Rovanoth was perfect and no one would say otherwise in his presence again unless they wanted to be decked in the eye socket. He munched on the redfruit again noting how she was touching her stomach.

Estess had insisted she was fine and blown over the subject a little too swiftly for his own taste. Something was wrong. Certainly. Dragonriders were known to be more empathetic than other humans and even a male could sense when something was amiss. “I'm sure Rovanoth would like to know many greens but it seems my attitude may have scared most of them off. Besides the only dragons he talks about are this blue named Claralth and Nisurath. I suppose it makes sense to him.” Something was certainly wrong with her.

It was not so much her stomach she had been holding. He mused. The position she was in reminded him of someone. Someone he knew as a child. She had been standing just that way and talking to him about, he could not remember for certain. “Hmmm.” After taking a bite out of the redfruit the topic hit him and he nearly choked. Coughing a couple of times he finally had his throat clear but could not say a word. Ev'os did not know what to do. How did one ask this sort of question without sounding like a complete asshole?

There was not anything for it and this would be better asked while Rovanoth slept soundly unaware of what was going on. “Are you, I mean, well...” He swallowed hard against his throat. “pregnant?” Ev'os was certain if she did not kill him one of the women in his life would. She certainly was not going to appreciate that question but he had to know now.

[LyricalBlue]

Shards! He had noticed and in a big way.Typical Ev'os to come right out there with it, well better now than never... No, not really, never sounded very nice. Now he was likely to go all father on her and seriously... what did a man have to do with giving birth to a child after all? Estess placed her hands on hips that were visibly wider than they had been and glared at him. Well, if he had figured out this much she at least didn't have to tell him it was his.
"Yes, how kind of you to notice."

Being called pregnant was not exactly a compliment in her books. In fact, him noticing the difference in her body only made her cheeks burn hotter and she glared at him with challenge. Let him dare to ask if it was his, oh he would get it that was sure. Sharding Weyrling, he'd never have time for her anyway. Even after Rovanoth was fully grown, she was only a greenrider. No doubt he'd be busy working his way up the Weyr's rankings. Better to scare him off now.

"It does happen once and awhile you know." Well, it had never happened to her, but he did not necessarily need to know that. He also didn't need to know that she hadn't bothered with any others after she'd met him. Zha was all the family she needed and as soon as she got this brat out it was going to the creche mothers.

[hrsegrl]

Her body language was saying plenty. Ev'os had struck a nerve, of course. How could he not? Every woman he talked to got angry with him. How this was his fault he had yet to realize. Why was she looking at him like that? He should not have said anything. Obviously she was not taking this well at all.

"How long have you been ummm, in this state?" Ev'os trying to be delicate was not something one saw every day. He had to assume Estess could have as many lovers as she wanted. She could have become this way before him or after him. He had no way of knowing unless she told him. So far Ev'os had no children and he was twenty turns of age. Not bad really, considering his brother's track record.

Akward was not something he was used to. Trying to eb reassuring he added, " It'll be fine, the Weyr needs more children and you wouldn't have to keep it long before you can return to your usual routine." He wondered what was really bothering her about this. Pregnancy was not so awful a thing.

[LyricalBlue]

Alright, he had a very good reason not to presume it was his, several in fact. She was a greenrider, this was a Weyr, and they hadn't really seen each other since that night. He was being polite... he was... being gracious; and it made Estess want to scream. The wind in her sails blew out as quickly as it had come. The truth was, she did not want to hold him down and he was right, the Weyr did need children. It was just, she had never thought it would be one of hers. The worst part of it all, was in another month or two she wouldn't be able to get in the saddle at all. And the thought of not being able to fly... that was the worst part. The throwing up and the bloating... everything else she could deal with.

Estess's hands dropped from her hips and she shrugged. It was just one night after all and his family was not well known for resemblance to each other, at least in looks. Maybe... it would be a boy and if that was the case, he would certainly have a pedigree worthy of Impression. The thought of carrying a future dragonrider warmed her slightly. No, Ev'os had too much on his plate for her to give him more now. Maybe later... maybe after the child was born.

"About three months... And no, you're right. Its not all bad, just mostly so." She attempted a half smile, let him wonder about the timing. Greenriders were known for having several partners and normally, Estess was no exception to that rule. "Its just a sharding pain, I didn't exactly plan it."

[hrsegrl]

Her facial expressions changed quite a bit from one moment to the next. Ev'os was not sure if she was going to yell at him when she spoke. When she did speak she was not angry. Maybe he had been wrong to assume it was not his. It was not that Estess herself had a reputation that he knew about it was just he stigma about greenriders in general. They were known to be a bit more loose than the average Weyr dweller.

Nodding he mulled over the number, three months. That was before he impressed Rovanoth and certainly around the time that they had spent the evening together. Whether he wanted to admit it or not was not the issue here, he got the feeling that even if it was his, she was not going to tell him. If it made her feel better about her current situation that was fine. Eventually word would reach his ears if the child was his and he would know just by looking at it whether it was his or not.

“I don't know why any rider would plan it but it should still be happy news. Some of the best things in life just happen.” He smiled not sure if anything would console her. How does one stay out of the wing for months and not feel out of place. She was not going to enjoy that. Who would? In a moment of extreme emotional weakness, looking at the pretty woman before him he added, “If you need anything at any time, let me know.” It was as close to an admission that the child could be his that she was going to get because he did not want her to know what he thought he knew.

[LyricalBlue]

Well, she certainly was not sure that a baby counted as one of the best things in life. Some women were born to be mothers, but Estess rode a fighting dragon. Zhatiath came first and last in her life, how could a child possibly fit in there? How could she possibly have time? She lifted her head to stare at Ev'os for a long moment. And he was a bronze... certainly the child was to go to the creche mothers and Estess would be done with it. She was very conscience of her hand over her belly at that moment and it hit her with a pang, even if it was a commonality in the Weyr. More often than not, the children were not raised by their biological parents.

The offer hit her with a finality and her eyes widened a fraction. Did he know? So much for ignorant males. She hadn't even told anyone yet, she didn't have nerve to do so. Not that rumors hadn't flown after their drunken night together. The Weyr was a small place and some things were just a little too hard. Ev'os had enough on his plate, she did not want to add to it.
"Thank you... But I'll be fine. But, thank you."

And really, she wouldn't be on her own. The Weyr had a dozen creche mothers, who had all had children of their own and plenty of grannies to help her along. The worst part of this was going to be grounding. Luckily she was big enough yet that she couldn't get a leg over her small green. Thank Faranth that Zha was as small of a dragon as her rider was as small of a human. Had Estess rode anything larger, she'd be grounded much sooner. Of course going between was out of the question at this point in the game, but with the Weyr in hiding, Estess couldn't exactly go very far even if she was capable. She would just have to wait this out.